Recent paper written during the design and recording phase of ‘Re/collections’ accessible via the following links:
Abstract:
“Our field; a landscape grown of natural and man-made structures, forms an omnipresent, vivid, and interactive sonic environment. This temporal field is ephemeral in nature; collected by listeners as passing moments are heard. Captured and projected field recordings can be received as the reanimation of sound into a new time and location, with ambisonics (three-dimensional 360-degree audio) capable of enhancing listener experience through the creation of digital 3D reimagined environments. Historical reimaginations in the form of musical compositions, sound effects, and dialogue, can be presented as solo sounds or entire sculpted soundscapes, accessible on a personal mobile device. Locative mobile audio provides an opportunity for curated audio storytelling in the heritage sector, spatialised in an outdoor setting through GPS, sensors for head-tracking, and headphones. Requiring minimal on-site infrastructure, mobile audio experiences are well-suited to augmenting public interactions with listed, ruined, and outdoor heritage sites , and are fitting for both personal and group listening. This paper will examine ambisonic recording techniques for heritage-specific audio content creation, in relation to the compositional process, design, and presentation of immersive listening experiences to the public. The prototype soundwalks were presented through the project partner mobile application ‘Echoes’, in the outdoor urban heritage location of Brunswick Square, Brighton & Hove, UK, in partnership with ‘The Regency Town House’. It will explore the researcher’s two public prototype iterations ‘The Golden Hours’ and ‘Re/collections’ which evolved from a preliminary public co-design activity, as examples to discuss the development process of ambisonic outdoor listening experiences.”